Little Life Lessons

I did my first event last weekend at Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin Dells (hello to everyone I met there!). I had a really nice time and met a lot of wonderful customers and vendors.

Quite a number of people came up to my table asking if we carried potty training books or big brother/sister books, etc. Although we don't carry books like that, many of our books are more than just stories - they're often about learning about yourself, seeing that it's okay to be different, and other great childhood lessons!

Here are just a few examples:

Ages 3-7

Find out what happens when Sam wakes up and finds that he's shrinking! No one will listen to him but his pencil is the size of a crocodile and one pea fills his whole tummy at dinner. This quirky story addresses the woes of a middle child, who is in need of a little attention.

(One of the most recent favorites in our house!)

Watch out - Emily is off and running again! This little girl has a problem with her temper, and every time she gets angry she turns into quite the little tiger. This quirky picture book addresses behavioral issues with humor and an emphasis on intergenerational relationships.

 

 Join Ruby on her way to school and see the world her mom cannot see. In an old house, she spies bats with red eyes peering out and scary witches that flit about. And these aren’t the only dangers on her path: tigers, crocodiles and mighty beasts abound! "I must be brave, I must be strong," chants Ruby as she musters the nerve to scare them off; but will it work?

  

Ages 4-10

 Climb to the top of Lonesome Mountain to meet a very special boy named Rink — every full moon, he grows flowers all over his body. This heartwarming story celebrates difference and friendship, as Rink meets a girl with her own secret, and they discover ways to help each other.

 

Meet Herb, a dragon who knows how to stay true to his values even in the stickiest of situations. When he is captured by the castle's knights in armor, vegetarian Herb is faced with a difficult decision: will he eat meat in order to save his own life?

Our new catalog is here!!

Take an hour or two to flip through our new 2012-2013 catalog. It's beautiful! I'm so excited for the new titles! (The "Little Red Riding Hood" looks so great!). And be sure you read all the way to the back, as we're introducing lots of great craft ideas and board games!

Love to read what you love

My next blog post was supposed to be about helping your kids learn to love reading, but In Lieu of Preschool beat me to it! So, instead, I'll just share her post: 

Help! My child doesn't like books! -- 25 Ideas to get your little one to love reading

 

 #6 is one of the main pieces of advice I give to parents of early readers: 

 

 Try to choose books that meld with your child's interests. 

 

 When I was in high school, part of my Psychology course required me to visit a local elementary school once a week. The elementary school teacher paired me up with a little boy who was struggling with reading. So once a week, he and I would go into a separate room and read together. What surprised me was that the teacher didn't give the boy an early-reader book to work on - he gave him an instruction manual to a piece of machinery used at construction sites. 

 The student LOVED construction sites, and the teacher had promised him that once he finished the instruction manual, he would take him to a real construction site. Great incentive! And the little boy really enjoyed what he was reading and wasn't frustrated at the amount of words he (and sometimes I!) didn't know!

 ...

 Do you have a kiddo who shows little to no interest in reading? What kind of advice do you have for parents of similarly-minded children?

New Spring Titles!

Some of our new spring titles were released this week! I cannot tell you how excited I am for these! I wish they were on my bookshelf already.

Two new titles from Clare Beaton 

(her books are my "go to" presents for baby showers and first birthdays!):

 

Lull little ones to sleep with this collection of soothing rhymes--perfect for bedtime! Includes "I See the Moon," "Brahms' Lullab" and "Wee Willie Winkie."

For babies to 4 years

Name and count the animals in these farming rhymes which include "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," "To Market, To Market" and "Six Little Ducks," all tailored to develop language, movement and relationship skills.

For babies to 4 years 

This beautifully told story follows Billy from early spring to late summer as he helps his grandpa on his vegetable patch. They dig the hard ground, sow rows of seeds, and keep them watered and safe from slugs. When harvest time arrives they can pick all the vegetables and fruit they have grown. Children will be drawn in by the poetry of the language and the warm illustrations, while also catching the excitement of watching things grow!

Ages 3 to 7 years 




 

Watch the wonder experienced by a small child journeying through the world and round the day taking in the many magnificent aspects of nature. This imaginative and lyrical picture book showcases the love between a mother and child, celebrating the ever-changing beauty of the natural world along the way.

Ages 1 to 7 years

the Shape of a book

Last fall, Milena and I spent a month learning about various shapes. We drew shapes, found them in everyday objects around our house, sang songs about shapes, and read lots and lots of books! I've listed some of our favorites below. I love them all, because they each inspired Milena to think about shapes differently, and they definitely made learning more fun! 

Each of these books shows the possibilities hidden inside a simple shape.

You will love this song until you realize you will never get it out of your head!

Emily's Tiger - sorting through emotions

Sometimes when Milena gets upset, she gets VERY UPSET! Which I think is fairly normal for a three year old. Life is still very confusing and unfair at times, and controlling those emotions is difficult. "Emily's Tiger" is a great book to pull off the shelf when Milena's having a particularly awful day. 

When Emily gets angry, she turns into quite the little tiger. Her parents aren't sure what they're going to do with her. But then Grandma shows up, and shares a little secret with Emily (shhhh! she can turn into a tiger too!). 

Milena loves Emily! The illustrations are great, and the Grandma is so much fun (love the inter-generational relationship!). The story gives kids the knowledge that they are in control of their feelings, even if they're not in control of the situation.

Other Barefoot Books titles with similar themes:

 Shrinking Sam

"Find out what happens when Sam wakes up and finds that he's shrinking! ... This quirky story addresses the woes of a middle child, who is in need of a little attention." But really it's a great read for anyone who sometimes feels ignored.

Ruby's School Walk

"Join Ruby on her way to school and see the world her mom cannot see. In an old house, she spies bats with red eyes peering out and scary witches that flit about. And these aren’t the only dangers on her path: tigers, crocodiles and mighty beasts abound! 'I must be brave, I must be strong,' chants Ruby as she musters the nerve to scare them off; but will it work." This is the perfect book for any kid unsure about starting at a new school or trying anything new and different. And it's an eye-opener for parents as well!

Endowing - Non Fiction

Milena is constantly endowing us as someone other than ourselves. So often, in fact, that last week when she said that I was mama, Jess was daddy, and she was Milena, I found myself a little confused about which game we were playing (and then realized we weren't playing a game! oh yes. I am mama!).

This is a fun (though sometimes tiring) way to play through Milena's favorite stories and bring her favorite characters to life. But I recently realized that basically everyone we "are" is someone fictitious. 

One of  my favorite children's lit finds from this past holiday season was the book "My Name Is Not Isabella" by Jennifer Fosberry (there is another version for boys titled, "My Name Is Not Alexander"). In "My Name Is Not Isabella," a little girl goes through her day pretending to be great women from history (e.g. Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Blackwell, Sally Ride). 

This is what I want for Milena! I would love for these women (and men) to be as natural a part of her play as Disney princesses and the Octonauts (our current favorite TV show). So now when we visit the library, we make sure to check out biographies along with our picture books and chapter books. 

 We enjoy the "My First Biography" and "Rookie Biographies" series the most. Today we read the Rookie Biography of Dr. Seuss. Milena was so excited to see pictures of him alongside some of her favorite books, and it was great to finally give her an idea of who Dr. Seuss is, since she's always hearing his name. (I always try to mention the author's name when reading the title of a book; I love when books include pictures of the author (and illustrator)! )

...

And while visiting Amazon to grab the links for these books, I discovered a new Isabella book being released in February! "Isabella: Girl on the Go"

Also, Barnes & Noble sells an Isabella paper doll set, and I desperately want to buy it for Milena! But I think she's a bit too young for them right now ... (but I'm not!).

Bookless

 "Say goodbye to the old Central Library at 'Bookless,' a community celebration in the empty building featuring a one-day only art show by 100 local artists. Pieces inspired by library space and materials range from paintings to oversize installations to live performances. Hands on activities like a public painting wall let you transform the 45-year old library into a work of art."

Bookless! The tiled areas mark where the stacks used to be.

     

What a fantastic event! "Bookless" was such an exciting and unique way to experience our local library. The artwork - much of it created from old library materials like ceiling tiles or old index cards - transformed the space and caused you to look at the medium in a whole new way. And the hands-on portions did the same (though I did feel a bit guilty allowing Milena to cut and glue books!).

 

 

Peering into the old children's area.

 

The designs for the new library look great (especially the children's area), but I almost wish they'd just leave the space open for us just a bit longer ...

  

Early Readers

“Research shows that it is not until eighth grade that a student's reading level catches up to his or her listening level. Until that time, most students are capable of hearing, understanding, and enjoying material that is more complicated than what they could read.” (Jim Trelease) (via Reading with Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers) It really makes sense once you think about it (my 3 year old still can't read, but she has spent the past 3 years willingly listening to me read books!), but I think we, as parents, often forget this fact - or at least don't take it quite far enough and, instead, stick mainly to board books and shorter picture books.

When Milena was 2.5, we started reading some early readers to her at bedtime like Frog & Toad and Little Bear. These are great because each chapter is a separate story. As her third birthday approached, she began to pull out her Beatrix Potter collection more and more often (which I loved, as I'm a big Beatrix Potter fan!).

Recently, the mama behind In Lieu of Preschool began talking about the chapter books she was reading with her (nearly) 4 year old. They were currently reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle, but had started with The Magic Tree House series. I think I picked our first Magic Tree House book up from the library that same day!

We started with Pirates Past Noon (#4), because that was the earliest book of the series the library had, and I was too excited to wait for #1! My plan was to read one chapter each day before nap time (and possibly another before bed), but one chapter quickly turned into two or three (before nap AND bed), and we finished the book in just two or three days. Luckily, I came across Dinosaurs Before Dark (#1) at the thrift store yesterday (along with four more Magic Tree House books), so we're set for awhile (although we already read three chapters today ..).


The books are simple enough (and the chapters are short enough) that Milena doesn't seem to have trouble following the story. I make sure to stop every so often to help her picture what's happening, and we always talk about what we read the previous day before reading more.


I love this series because it covers so many different topics (dinosaurs, knights, space, weather) that there's a little something for everyone. And it's exciting to think that someday soon Milena will be able to pick these off her shelf and start reading them all by herself!

...

Which books are current bedtime favorites at your house?

Hello. Welcome.

Hi! I'm Kat - a bug-catching, princess-playing, puddle-jumping, book-reading mama. I'm lucky enough to stay home with my 3-year-old daughter, Milena. When I'm not busy playing with her, I'm probably either in my craft corner making something for my Etsy store (underduck) or promoting my Barefoot Books business (Kids Read Barefoot). I have always had a passion for children's literature, and Milena just devours books (as you can see from the picture below), so when the opportunity arose for me to become a Barefoot Books Ambassador, I jumped at the chance. I'm really excited to share our favorite books (Barefoot & others) with you along with some handy tips for reading with little ones!